The School Shooting — A Poem

Photo by Dima Solomin on Unsplash

I was in Canada the day of the school shooting.
No, that’s not specific enough.
See, my husband is from Scotland.
They can talk about The School Shooting.
My best friend lives in Toronto.
They can talk about The School Shooting.
I can’t.

So.

I was in Canada the day of the most recent school shooting.
(Although maybe, a week later, that isn’t true
Anymore.)
I was in Canada thinking about how my oldest
Is almost nine and I was born in Tennessee
And thank god I’m in Canada
But my god my kids are not in Canada
And oh god those are someone’s kids
Even if they are not mine.

Then the next day on the plane
I snuck home kinder eggs
To my kindergartner.
I had to sneak them
Because the U.S. bans
Anything that might
Hurt children.